Canucks News

Canucks Prospects Three Stars

...MacEwen, DiPietro & Hughes impress

With October in the rear-view mirror, it's time to look back at the month that was for Canucks prospects.

Quite a few players made good early impressions in the first full month of the 2018-19 seasons, but a couple set themselves apart from the pack.

Here are the Three Stars in the Canucks prospect pool for October.

Third Star - Zack MacEwen

The undrafted free agent prospect that signed with the Canucks in 2017 has been making huge strides over the last year or so.

Prior to entering the organization, there wasn't much known about the hulking winger, but he's quickly put himself in the conversation as a possible call up at some point in this campaign. Really impressive stuff for a player that was passed over in three drafts before ultimately signing an entry level contract with the Canucks.

After a 10 goal and 23 assist season with the Comets in 2017-18, MacEwen ends the month of October with three goals and six assists in 10 games. That is good for second on the Comets in goals, assists, and total points. He is leading the Comets in penalty minutes with 15.

Every night, MacEwen balances the gritty side of his game with some really noteworthy puck skills and offensive awareness

The Canucks and Comets have been battling injuries early in the season and thus MacEwen has been afforded a big opportunity to start the season. He's taken advantage of that so far as he works towards getting that first taste of NHL action.

Second Star - Michael DiPietro

Michael DiPietro had a slow start to the 2018-19 season, but has picked it up as of late.

Sitting with a record of 4-5-1 in 11 appearances this season for Windsor, DiPietro sits 7th in the OHL in goals-against-average (2.43) and 8th in save percentage (0.917%). Both of those numbers have seen improvement over the last two weeks as DiPietro has allowed two or less goals in his last four starts.

Backstopping Windsor to a 6-1 win over Owen Sound on Sunday, the Canucks prospect set the Spitfires club record for most wins in an OHL career with 79. DiPietro is still tied with Tom McCollum for the record for most shutouts in an OHL career with 16.

DiPietro will be getting some national attention over the next couple of weeks as he will represent Team OHL at the Canada/Russia Series next week and then will get an invite to Team Canada's World Junior Evaluation Camp shortly after that.

First Star - Quinn Hughes

The Canucks first round pick in 2018, Quinn Hughes, lands in the first spot for October.

In five regular season NCAA games this year, Hughes has two goals and four assists which includes a fantastic three-point (1-2-3) performance this past weekend against St Lawrence. Hughes also picked up an assist in Michigan's exhibition game against the University of Waterloo this month.

His ability to get the puck through coverage and towards the net has been something that stood out and was on display during the three points this past weekend. Hughes has appeared to be more aggressive in all three zones, using his skating abilities to his advantage.

Although he isn't leading the NCAA in scoring, there is a sense that the sky is the limit for Hughes this season and his play thus far has been really encouraging.

Honourable Mentions

Olli Juolevi - The Canucks top pick from the 2016 NHL Entry Draft has been playing very well for the Utica Comets to start the season. In 10 AHL games this season, Olli Juolevi has one goal and five assists. He is seeing regular time on the first power-play unit, penalty kill, and plenty of the tough matchups at 5-on-5 play.

Tyler Madden - Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Tyler Madden burst onto the scene in the NCAA with three goals in his first three games. He hasn't been able to keep that pace and now sits at three goals and one assist in six games this season. He is Northeastern's first line centre and plays primarily in front of the net on their first powerplay unit.